Do you think copy-cat competitors can help your businses or not?

I was just reading an article about how they think it can help.
http://www.free-range-humans.com/advice/copycat/

This got me to thinking about my parents and their business. Over 30 years ago they started an Asian/International grocery with a dining restaurant next door. There was no other businesses like this (Grocery/Restaurant). Over the past several years I see MANY Grocery/Restaurant among ethnic stores. If you see a Mexican, African, or Asian grocery store you’ll bet there will be a restaurant next to it now.

My parents claim that they were the ones that started that “trend”. My mom says with a little negativity “Now there’s so many other places to go and we don’t have as much customers as we used to”

I mean, we still do good but in the past it was REALLY good.